Mary Rappole, a member of the Jamestown Zonta Club, is pictured speaking at the Zonta International Convention in Germany earlier this year. Submitted photo

Mary Rappole, a member of the Zonta Club of Jamestown, attended Zonta International’s 65th biennial convention in Hamburg, Germany, earlier this year.

Zonta International is a global organization of professionals empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy. It has more than 1,100 clubs with 25,000 members in 63 countries. There has been a club in Jamestown since 1921. The Jamestown club is part of District 4, which includes members from Pittsburgh to Buffalo and across the border into Ontario. A group of 14 members traveled from District 4 to Germany.

Mary Rappole was the delegate from the Zonta club of Jamestown to attend the convention. Zonta International has worked closely with the United Nations Children’s Fund and the United Nations Population Fund to remove barriers to girls’ education, support no violence against women and a current goal of ending child marriage. In attendance at the convention were representatives from the United Nations to update Zontians on the status of many joint programs.

Of particular interest at this convention were the delegates from Ukraine. They were greeted with standing ovations and reflected their gratitude of Zonta’s financial and emotional support during the military invasion.

Rappole was also able to attend workshops on advocacy, service and membership. Recently she shared her trip experiences and current status of these global programs with the Jamestown chapter. Rappole has been a member of Zonta for 17 years.

Zonta Club of Jamestown continues to be open to membership for all interested persons. The club meets from September through June, twice a month, with business and service programs, fundraising, extensive scholarships and networking within our community.

The 2024 Zonta International Convention will be in Brisbane, Australia.

More information can be found about Zonta International at www.zonta.org and www. zontajamestown.org. For more information about the Jamestown Zonta Club, email Jamestown@zontadistrict4.org.